Lady Griz to host Big Sky-leading Bobcats

The Montana women's basketball team will have a chance on Saturday to pull off what no other Big Sky Conference squad has been able to do this season: hand first-place Montana State its first league loss.

It would be only the Bobcats' third loss of the season and first defeat since Dec. 7. MSU will enter Saturday's match-up on a 10-game winning streak, the program's longest since the 2019-20 season. It's tied for the 10th longest active winning streak in the country.

Montana (7-11, 3-4 BSC) and Montana State (17-2, 7-0 BSC) will tip off at 2 p.m. inside Dahlberg Arena in the first of two regular-season match-ups. The teams will play again in Bozeman on Saturday, Feb. 22.

Coverage: Saturday's game can be watched on ESPN+ and heard on KGRZ (1450 AM/92.7 FM) and KGRZMissoula.com, with Ace Sauerwein on the call.

The game will have additional coverage through Scripps Sports, with Tom Wylie and Krista Redpath.

What's at stake (Montana): The Lady Griz will be trying to bounce back from Monday's 70-57 loss at Idaho, which ended a modest two-game winning streak for Montana, matching its best of the season.

The Lady Griz are in fourth place in the Big Sky's bunched-up standings.

Behind the top three in the Big Sky – Montana State, Idaho and Northern Arizona, who are a combined 17-2 and only have losses to one another – the next seven teams all have either three, four or five league losses. Montana's three wins, however, are more than the other six teams hold.

After Saturday's game, Montana will play six of its final 10 regular-season games on the road. The Lady Griz are 1-8 away from Missoula this season, their lone win coming at North Dakota.

What's at stake (Montana State): The Bobcats sit atop the Big Sky standings at 7-0 and have handed 5-1 Idaho and 5-1 Northern Arizona their only league losses, nice tiebreakers to be holding in January.

Montana State's only losses this season have come on the road at Utah, 72-53, and in overtime, 82-80, at Oral Roberts, a team now 14-5 and holding a top-100 NET ranking. Utah is No. 27.

The Bobcats hold a heady NET ranking of 60 as they try to win their first outright Big Sky championship since the 2019-20 season.

Montana notables:

* The Lady Griz, in their first games under acting head coach Nate Harris, swept Weber State and Idaho State on a short home stand last week, holding off the Wildcats 74-70 before shooting their way past Idaho State 81-60.

Against Weber State, Tyler McCliment-Call, who scored five points in Montana's previous three games, all losses, exploded for 18 points off the bench on 7-of-10 shooting.

Up 41-40 at the half, Montana built a 14-point fourth-quarter lead before holding off a furious Wildcat rally. Weber State had the ball down three in the final 10 seconds but had its potential game-tying 3-pointer blocked by Avery Waddington.

Montana blitzed Idaho State on Saturday, putting up 27 first-quarter points and building a 49-34 halftime lead.

Four players scored in double figures in the 81-60 win, with Aby Shubert hitting four 3-pointers and scoring a career-high 14 points, with McCliment-Call adding 12 on 5-of-7 shooting, giving her a 12-of-17 home stand.

Montana shot 52.6 percent, its second-best performance of the season behind its win over Washington (.569). It was the most points scored by the Lady Griz against the Bengals since the 2006-07 season, predating 17th-year ISU coach Seton Sobolewski.

Montana hit a season-high 14 3-pointers on 32 attempts (.438), two shy of the most 3-pointers ever allowed by Idaho State.

* On Monday, Montana played its third game in five days, traveling to Moscow and facing the upstart Vandals, of whom not much was expected this season, playing as they are under their third head coach in three seasons.

Sixteen days after falling to Idaho in Missoula by a score of 63-50, Montana lost again by 13, 70-57. The Vandals scored the game's opening 14 points and never let the Lady Griz get back in the game.

Montana shot 28.2 percent, its second-lowest percentage of the season behind its loss at Minnesota (.255). That defensive performance has Idaho ranked fourth nationally in field goal percentage defense (.337).

Mack Konig scored 10 points off the bench, with all 10 players who saw court time scoring at least two points.

* In last week's games, Dani Bartsch reached a pair of statistical milestones.

She hit her 100th 3-pointer to become only the 16th player in program history to reach that mark and with 27 rebounds over the last three games, she broke into the top 10 in program history in that career category.

She now has 798 for her career, which ranks eighth in program history. She recently passed Lady Griz legends Anita Novak (786, 1981-85), Katie Baker (787, 2009-13) and Marti Leibenguth (794, 1984-88).

To break into the top five, she'll need to pass Jodi Hinrichs (822, 1990-95), Lisa McLeod (829, 1985-89) and Greta Koss (846, 1992-97).

* Aby Shubert, who only attempted four 3-pointers over six games between Dec. 4 and Jan. 4, has been on fire since the Northern Arizona game. She is 14 for 31 (.452) the last five games. She's been in the stating lineup the last four games.

* Montana ranks in the top 50 in the nation in a pair of categories: bench points (16th, 28.3/g) and 3-pointers made (32nd, 8.4/g). The Lady Griz lead the Big Sky in 3-point percentage (.337).

* Mack Konig ranks 36th nationally in assists (5.1/g) and is second in the Big Sky behind Sacramento State's Benthe Versteeg (5.7/g).

* Konig sat out Montana's home game against Weber State on Thursday. It was the first missed game of her Lady Griz career after 78 consecutive games played. She came off the bench against Idaho State and Idaho after starting her previous 59 games played.

* Freshman Avery Waddington has an impressive slash line of .458/.408/.800. … She leads the team in rebounding (6.1/g). Her 10 rebounds at Idaho on Monday was her second time this season grabbing 10.

* Seniors Dani Bartsch and MJ Bruno are the only two players to start every game this season.

* Macy Donarski has started the last three games. Over 60 minutes played, she has totaled 12 assists while turning the ball over only three times.

* Adria Lincoln has gone 4 for 6 from the 3-point line the last four games and is 16 for 36 (.444) from the arc this season.

* Acting head coach Nate Harris was on the staff at Montana State for four seasons, from 2014-15 to 2017-18. With Harris in Bozeman, the Bobcats won the Big Sky regular-season title in 2016, the tournament championship in 2017.

Montana State notables:

* The Bobcats went 17-16 last season and had numbers that reflected that thin margin. Montana State averaged 58.7 points while allowing 58.0.

The difference this season is an offense that added some scoring punch and a defense that has been one of the most disruptive in the entire country.

These Bobcats, who added high-profile transfer and elite scorer Esmeralda Morales in the offseason, are averaging 71.7 points while allowing 56.1. Those are winning numbers.

* With plenty of returners, it's been Morales's scoring average of 14.2 per game, fourth highest in the Big Sky, that has boosted MSU's offensive output from the upper 50s to the low 70s, a massive difference for a defensive-minded program.

Montana State is middle of the pack in the Big Sky statistics in both overall shooting percentage (.410) and 3-point percentage (.323) but is really good at getting to the free throw line.

The Bobcats average more than 18 attempts per game and have made 255 free throws this season, while their opponents have only attempted 258. Montana's season high for free throw attempts is 19. In their last 10 games, the Lady Griz have attempted nine or fewer free throws six times.

Marah Dykstra, second-team All-Big Sky last season, averages 13.4 points on 48.0 percent shooting. Katelynn Martin, formerly Katelynn Limardo, averages 9.9 points.

* There are some teams, like Idaho, that force their opponents into bad shots and win through field goal percentage defense. Then there are teams like Montana State, which wins on the defensive end by limiting shots.

The team's field goal percentage defense of .392 doesn't even rank in the top 125 in the country, yet the team's scoring defense (56.1/g) checks in at 28th nationally.

The reason for the discrepancy: Montana State ranks third nationally in steals (14.2/g) and 12th in turnovers forced (23.9/g). The result: the Bobcats have taken 174 more shots this season than their opponents.

They win not by simply shooting a bit of a better percentage but by shooting a better percentage on more shots taken. That's how a team has a +15.6 scoring margin on the season.

The team's length and defensive game plan also allow it to defend the 3-point line at a high level. MSU's opponents are shooting just 26.9 percent from the arc. It all combines to make Montana State a tough defensive unit to crack.

Only three teams – Utah, Oral Roberts and Northern Arizona – have reached 70 points this season against Montana State, which has held nine of its last 10 opponents to 57 or fewer points.

That doesn't bode well for Montana, which has had to reach 70 points to win each of its seven games this season. When the Lady Griz haven't reached 70? They are 0-9.

* Montana State is 9-1 in games decided by 12 points or fewer because the Bobcats have two important ingredients for success in close games: a go-to scorer and a defense of interchangeable parts that makes late-game situations death on an opponent looking to exploit some sort of mismatch.

Montana State opened the season forcing 48, 22, 26 and 21 turnovers through its first four games while averaging nearly 80 points per game, a sign of what was to come.

MSU turned Utah over 18 times but couldn't keep up offensively, the Utes shooting 51.9 percent in their 72-53 win, one of only two losses for the Bobcats this season.

In its only other loss, Montana State couldn't hold on to a four-point fourth-quarter lead, losing 82-80 in overtime on the road against a very good Oral Roberts team.

* Montana State opened league at home against Idaho, the tight game playing out predictably, the Bobcats winning 59-56 despite shooting 36.1 percent. The Vandals shot 46.3 percent but turned the ball over 23 times. Morales? 17 points, the difference-maker.

* It hasn't been an easy route to 7-0 in league. Montana State, in its second league game, trailed Eastern Washington by five in the fourth quarter at home before rallying for the win. In their next game, the Bobcats trailed at the half at Northern Colorado.

* The telltale victory came at Northern Arizona earlier this month, an 87-81 win with Morales going off for 30 points. MSU lost twice to the Lumberjacks last season by a combined 28 points, unable to keep up offensively.

In the teams' first meeting earlier this month, NAU led 22-11 after the first quarter. More of the same? Nope. Montana State outscored the home team 54-34 over the second and third quarters to take control.

* Montana State had lopsided home wins last week over Idaho State, 94-52, and Weber State, 75-51, Natalie Picton going off for 24 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the 3-point line in the former.

* Monday night at Eastern Washington, a 58-56 Montana State victory, showed how the Bobcats can still win the ugly ones, going home with a victory after shooting 29.6 percent, turning the ball over 22 times and getting outrebounded 54-32.

Montana State harassed the Eagles into 32 turnovers, which offset EWU's 23 offensive rebounds, and held Eastern Washington to 29.7 percent shooting.

Morales was held to 15 points on 4-of-12 shooting but got to the line nine times. Taylee Chirrick had the unique double-double of 12 points and 11 steals, tied for the second-most steals by a Division I player in a game this season, tied for the most by a Division I player against a Division I opponent.

Chirrick ranks 18th nationally at 3.0 steals per game.

* Twentieth-year coach Tricia Binford has a record of 346-251. She has gone 20-21 against Montana, though she is 15-4 against the Lady Griz in the teams' last 19 match-ups.

Series History:

* Montana leads the all-time series with Montana State 81-37 and has gone 49-11 against the Bobcats in Missoula.

* The Lady Griz dominated the series for decades but have won only four of the teams' last 19 meetings. … Eight of the Bobcats' 11 wins in Missoula have come since the 2009-10 season.

* The teams split their series a year ago, Montana State winning 64-55 in Bozeman, Montana winning 72-50 in Missoula.

* In the first game last season, Montana led 19-5 less than seven minutes in, but nothing much went right after that for the Lady Griz, who never held a fourth-quarter lead. Montana went without a field goal made the final 5:41, going 0 for 6 with a pair of turnovers.

* The rematch in Missoula was no contest, the Lady Griz shooting 48.1 percent and going 14 for 27 from the 3-point line. The Bobcats, who trailed 66-40 with four minutes to go, needed to make a late surge just to reach 50 points.

Around the Big Sky Conference:

* Montana State, Idaho and Northern Arizona have separated themselves from the rest of the league, both in record and in results.

* Northern Arizona is the offensive juggernaut, ranking 24th nationally in scoring (79.9/g). Idaho is the lock-down defensive team, ranking fourth nationally in field goal percentage defense (.337). Montana State is a blend of the two.

* This week's NET rankings: Montana State (60), Northern Arizona (91), Idaho (114), Montana (187), Northern Colorado (194), Sacramento State (195), Eastern Washington (210), Idaho State (249), Weber State (279), Portland State (292).

* Portland State picked up its first league win of the season on Thursday, defeating Northern Colorado in Portland, 58-52.

* Northern Colorado is now 1-5 in league and at the bottom of the standings, the Bears' lone win at home over Montana.

* Portland State and Idaho State are both 1-4 in league, both of their wins coming over Northern Colorado.

* Thursday schedule: SAC at ISU, PSU at WSU, UI at UNC, EWU at NAU

* Saturday schedule: MSU at UM, PSU at ISU, SAC at WSU, EWU at UNC, UI at NAU

* Non-Montana game to monitor: Idaho at Northern Arizona. It's the Big Sky's highest-scoring team (NAU, 79.9/g) against the Big Sky's stingiest defensive team (UI, 55.6/g).

Upcoming: Montana will go on the road next week for games at Portland State and Sacramento State.

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Players Mentioned

Dani Bartsch

MJ Bruno

Macy Donarski

Mack Konig

Adria Lincoln

Tyler McCliment-Call

Aby Shubert

Avery Waddington

University of Montana Athletics